Austin Eyesores

[Austinshrink]

Exhibit A- Holiday Inn Lady Bird Lake

Such a prominent location and such a dilapidated, outdated mess. Can holiday inn be compelled to remodel or sell?

[myBrain]

Lavaca Plaza. I have a rant about it in another thread. It and the Chase garage create a huge deadzone just in the middle of one of the busiest parts of downtown.

[corvairkeith]

These three that have been in this condition for years at such a prominent location.

[The ATX]

I think the storefronts are worse than the trees.

[corvairkeith]

I was referring to the three storefronts. Here's how they looked as far back as 2007.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by corvairkeith

I was referring to the three storefronts. Here's how they looked as far back as 2007.

Yeah, I read that way wrong. The family that owns those buildings are like WCC. Just HOLD, don't develop.

[lzppjb]

Originally Posted by Austinshrink

Exhibit A- Holiday Inn Lady Bird Lake

Such a prominent location and such a dilapidated, outdated mess. Can holiday inn be compelled to remodel or sell?

http://leonardlundgrenarchitect.com/...as,_Round.html

If Holiday Inn renovates, I hope they keep the round part and just replace the rest.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

http://leonardlundgrenarchitect.com/...as,_Round.html

If Holiday Inn renovates, I hope they keep the round part and just replace the rest.

That would be OK. I would also throw in that gas station as part of that general eyesore area.

[lzppjb]

Can we list Millennium Rainey yet?

[dilliam]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

Can we list Millennium Rainey yet?

Not before Towers of Town Lake

[Syndic]

[We vs us]

That whole East Avenue dog leg, from Lambie to I-35, would seem ripe for redevelopment. The amount of land that the Holiday Inn, the gas station, and the Towers of Town Lake have in total is about 2-3 full city blocks. The redevelopment value locked up in there is pretty huge.


EDIT: Dilliam -- jinx!

[Syndic]

I'd also like to nominate the Palm School. Just not impressive or interesting at all. It needs to go.

[AusTex]

What first came to my mind are all those Capitol Complex parking garages along San Jacinto and along Trinity. Especially those on Trinity facing Waterloo Park. What a waste of prime park front land.

Then there is always that Judicial Building over 9th, between San Jacinto and Trinity that keeps 9th closed between the two streets. Talk about ugly low rise, that also messes with the traffic grid!

[Azul]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Yeah, I read that way wrong. The family that owns those buildings are like WCC. Just HOLD, don't develop.

They are even worse than that. These three properties have a long, contentious history but the short of it is that they are intentionally letting these buildings rot for three reasons; as a general land "hold" play, to reduce their tax liability, and so they can eventually curb historic/preservation codes and demo these structures by claiming there is nothing worth saving. The City has been on to this for a while but there is only so much they can do here.

Currently, the plan is to compromise by restoring the three facades, demoing the buildings behind them, and then developing a multi-story tower behind them. We may expect this to happen in the next year or two, but there's other drama that may continue to delay this. Who knows?

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by Azul

Currently, the plan is to compromise by restoring the three facades, demoing the buildings behind them, and then developing a multi-story tower behind them. We may expect this to happen in the next year or two, but there's other drama that may continue to delay this. Who knows?

This has been the plan for at least the last 5 years...what makes you think it'll actually start up in the next year or two?

[KevinFromTexas]

I don't mind the Holiday Inn on Town Lake and the Towers of Town Lake. I know they aren't beautiful, but for me they signaled a new era of Austin two decades apart that were just different from anything before. They both took advantage of the riverfront and signaled what the area could become. It must have been pretty exciting seeing the Holiday Inn on Town Lake going up. Austin was tiny back then, so having this new modern hotel being built right on the water must have been. Towers of Town Lake was for the same reason. It came along before 100 Congress, One Congress Plaza, San Jacinto Center and the Four Seasons Hotel stretched the skyline south to the river. I'm sure it was "the place" to live in the 1980s. I know it's plain now, but back then it was cool.

Lavaca Plaza. Now there's something generic and out of place.

Agreed on the APD headquarters, too. It's just such an odd building that supposedly started out as a hotel before the city snatched it up after the economy tanked in the 80s.

I like the Palm School Building. I think what makes it an eyesore, along with other buildings in its situation, is that we've undervalued them. They look lost and forgotten, and with no logical use in sight, because we've chosen to make it that way, we've sort of come to think of them as useless.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by dilliam

Not before Towers of Town Lake

ToTL is just an inefficient use of very valuable land that's not in a CVC. If that site was redeveloped, it could probably fit six towers.

[SkyPie]

Austin Centre/Omni downtown. An entire block with zero street facing activity. Granite right down to the sidewalk on all sides. Horrible design for an urban environment.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I don't mind the Holiday Inn on Town Lake and the Towers of Town Lake. I know they aren't beautiful, but for me they signaled a new era of Austin two decades apart that were just different from anything before. They both took advantage of the riverfront and signaled what the area could become. It must have been pretty exciting seeing the Holiday Inn on Town Lake going up. Austin was tiny back then, so having this new modern hotel being built right on the water must have been. Towers of Town Lake was for the same reason. It came along before 100 Congress, One Congress Plaza, San Jacinto Center and the Four Seasons Hotel stretched the skyline south to the river. I'm sure it was "the place" to live in the 1980s. I know it's plain now, but back then it was cool.

Lavaca Plaza. Now there's something generic and out of place.

Agreed on the APD headquarters, too. It's just such an odd building that supposedly started out as a hotel before the city snatched it up after the economy tanked in the 80s.

I like the Palm School Building. I think what makes it an eyesore, along with other buildings in its situation, is that we've undervalued them. They look lost and forgotten, and with no logical use in sight, because we've chosen to make it that way, we've sort of come to think of them as useless.

I agree with everything you just said. Every point. Let's not forget the SRV video featuring the newly constructed Towers of Town Lake.
There were other misques along I35 that are embarrassing to this day because of their visibility to thousands of people passing through on the interstate....Hilton Garden Inn and that incredibly horrific apartment or condo building directly south of it. Who designed that piece of shit?! Those two will stand out for all the wrong reasons forever with little chance of being covered up by something nicer. On my old 'What If' thread, I photoshopped how they could be upgraded somewhat similar to the Dobie Center upgrade.